RSVP for “The Wedding Banquet” to experience a unique chosen family

Although The Wedding Banquet starts with the premise of “let’s perform a pretend hetero nuptials to hide the real gay marriage from our parents / grandparents / _____ fill in the blank,” the film does conclude with an unexpected twist. While marriage equality may, for some, question traditional family structure, the family unit that results at the end of The Wedding Banquet adds a whole new dynamic to what might constitute a chosen queer household.

Directed by Andrew Ahn, The Wedding Banquet’s plot follows two same-sex couples’ relationships and one’s family planning while navigating their own families, some accepting of gay relationships and some not.

While there are twists that carry the film to its conclusion, the plot is relatively straightforward. Angela and her partner Lee have faced repeated disappointments with IVF, and now they’re out of funds for another attempt. At the same time, their friend Min — an heir to a powerful global corporation who keeps his sexuality a secret — has no shortage of money but is about to lose his student visa. When his noncommittal boyfriend Chris turns down his marriage proposal, Min makes an unexpected proposition to Angela: marry him for a green card, and in return, he’ll cover the cost of Lee’s next IVF round. But their plan for a discreet courthouse wedding is thrown into chaos when Min’s sharp-eyed grandmother makes a surprise trip from Korea, demanding a lavish celebration instead.

Each couple’s relationship ups and downs along with the friendships intermingled among them propel the story forward amongst some chuckles and hearty laughs.

Over 30 years ago, Ang Lee’s groundbreaking film The Wedding Banquet stood out for its forward-thinking portrayal of a queer couple and one partner’s arranged marriage to their female tenant. The plan was to deceive his conservative parents while also helping the woman secure a green card. While the progress made since then is reflected in the 2025 version’s portrayal of LGBTQ rights and an increasingly multiracial society, it shares similarities such as the fact that love still triumphs and chosen families are worth fighting for. The current version of The Wedding Banquet was co-written by Ahn and James Schamus (who also co-wrote the original).

Ahn first encountered Ang Lee’s original The Wedding Banquet at a video rental store with his parents. “This was the first gay movie I’d ever seen, and it was a gay Asian movie, a gay Asian-American movie. It’s one of my favorite films. It’s such a beautiful mix of culture and sexuality and family dynamics. That’s a really hard mix to find in film.”

Much has changed since the original film, made before the legalization of same-sex marriage and conceived now, at a time when LGBTQ rights in the U.S. are under ever-increasing threat. Although Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet is in direct conversation with its predecessor, peppered with tie-ins and lines that wink at the original, both he and Schamus were emphatic on a fresh imagining.”

The Wedding Banquet stars Bowen Yang, a groundbreaker who rose to fame as the first person of Asian descent named to SNL’s cast, who has also starred in films such as Wicked and Fire Island (also directed by Ahn). How does he get it all done, and also why? Yang told Vanity Fair: “I had some pretty rough moments this season at SNL. The candle has been melted, has been burned away. I’m not setting too many expectations for myself. I’m just trying to create opportunities for something interesting.”

The multigenerational cast is rounded out by Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-Jung, Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan, and Joan Chen.

The dynamics of chosen families, blood relatives, and even adoption are all explored throughout The Wedding Banquet through dialogue and interpersonal relationships that ultimately show love as well as procreation prevail despite old-fashioned viewpoints and more appropriately because of the love and respect we all can have for one another.

“A lot has changed for the queer community since 1993, perhaps most significantly the legalization of gay marriage,” Ahn said. “But now that we can get married, the question becomes . . . should we? Our film explores this question and the even thornier follow-up. Should we . . . have kids?”

RSVP for your ticket to The Wedding Banquet, whether while it is in theaters or comes to streaming, to discover how chosen families are truly “family”!